Carols of Christmas: A Dickensian Tale
by Hobbit4Lyfe
Summary: A prequel to/sequel to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. This is a Stardust-Harry Potter-Lord of the Rings-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie crossover. Chapters aren't in chronological order. I do not own the song lyrics used in this story. First-person recountings set in August of 2009. Please review.
1. Introduction

I have endeavoured in this ghostly little book to raise the ghost of an idea, that shall not put my reader out of humor with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.

Their faithful friend and servant,

Charles Dickens,

December, 1843

* * *

I, too, have endeavoured in this book to explore the history, the truth, and the future of Dickens' most famous characters, or close to them. Who was:

- Ebenezer Scrooge?

- Jacob Marley?

- Bob Cratchit?

- His son, Tiny Tim?

Dickens' faithful friend and servant,

Hobbit4Lyfe,

August, 2009


	2. Jacob Marley, 1

_Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief,_

_And for the rest of us, death will be a relief._

_We all deserve to die!_

_-Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd_

* * *

Marley was as dead as a doornail.

God, I hate that phrase. "Dead as a doornail." An old man once said that the phrase should be "dead as a dust mop." I like that. It's funny.

Death is not easy, as people say. There is no freedom for me. I spend eternity in chains.

My name is Jacob Marley.

I did not die on Christmas Eve of 1843, as some believe, but Christmas Eve of 1998.

Also, Ben Scrooge wasn't my only friend to come to my funeral. I had a whole gang of friends from school. Some of them I've known practically my whole life. They all came. Of course, Ben had become the stingy old man most people know him as by then.

Sad, really. He was – is – a good man.

No, I guess I should say "was" after all. Mr. Scrooge died 14 months after his ghostly encounters in December of 2005.

It's ironic, really. He laughed at his nephew, Fred, for falling in love and getting married, because he, Scrooge, had been set free by his own fiancée.

Ben died on Valentine's Day.


	3. Ebenezer Scrooge, 1

_I hear in my mind_

_All of these voices._

_I hear in my mind_

_All of these words._

_I hear in my mind_

_All this music._

_And it breaks my heart._

_And it breaks my heart…_

_-Regina Spektor_

* * *

After my sister, Fanny, died, everything went downhill for me.

I got greedy. For that reason, my girlfriend… no, my fiancée, left me. I didn't care enough to try and get her back. She tried to tell me how much I'd changed, but I didn't listen.

I guess… well… After Little Fan died, money was my comfort.

After she died, I hated Christmas. Especially all of the carols. Fanny used to sing with the most beautiful voice.

It really didn't help that she died in labor on Christmas.

I was too selfish to put her married name on her grave. I am such a terrible brother.

* * *

_Frances Erin "Fanny" Scrooge_

_Loving daughter, sister, and mother_

_May 25, 1957 – December 25, 1979_


	4. Bob Cratchit, 1

_Don't believe the words they say to you,_

_They are so absurd._

_And don't believe the words they say about me_

_Because I'm_

_Feeling mighty fine._

_-Eels_

* * *

Growing up, I'd always read or heard Charles Dickens' book around Christmas. I thought it odd that I had the same name of one of the main characters.

I grew up with Scrooge's nephew, Fred, and he had the same idea about himself. I mean really, he was Scrooge's nephew, for gosh sakes! And his mother, Fan, died.

We started getting suspicious when the night before his 19th birthday, Jacob Marley died.

Seven years later, back in 2005…

Around October or November or so, I started to get worried. Worried for my employer, Mr. Scrooge, yes. I had a feeling, some way or another, things would work out for him. I'd hoped it'd be the happy ending at the end of the book, not the miserable end that the spirits showed him.

I was worried about the spirits' ending because, not only would Scrooge die, but so would Tiny Tim.

I know that I pretended not to be miserable in Mr. Dickens' book. If Tim had died in real life, I'm not sure if I'd hide how miserable I'd be.

My son is my life. It would've been devastating to me – and my whole family – to have to bury a 7½-year-old child.

I'm thankful to know that Mr. Scrooge was able to redeem himself. He was able to keep his own life, at least for a little while. He also helped to keep the life of an innocent child.


	5. Jacob Marley, 2

_No one laughs at God_

_When the doctor calls_

_After some routine tests…_

_-Regina Spektor_

* * *

One thing in Dickens' story I never liked was how he never specified how I would die.

In life, I was curious and scared to find out if, how, and when I'd die. Especially at Christmastime.

The summer before I died, I received the bad news: I was terminally ill, with cancer so far along I had about six months or so to live.

I knew I would probably be ill at the time of my death, or, at least, I suspected it. The cancer, though, just made it harder for me, and for my friends and loved ones – especially one young man I was close to, one that Dickens failed to mention if he'd known at all about him.


	6. Bob Cratchit, 2

_I'm trying to hold on,_

_Just waiting to hear your voice._

_One word, just a word, will do_

_To end this nightmare._

_-Jason Raize as Simba_

* * *

Until about seventeen months ago, I had no idea who my father was. I knew he and my mother were married, and that was all I knew. Even on her deathbed, my mother never told me who he was.

A year or so ago, my friend lent me the DVD of the movie Stardust. While watching it, Tim said I look a bit like Tristan.

Seventeen months ago, my friend Godric remembered and realized how to go about keeping his word to his godfather, regarding a promise he made as a child. Godric had said he'd help reunite his godfather with his son.

About two months after he made said promise, Godric and I met on our first night at Hogwarts.

It wasn't until seventeen months ago, or, eighteen months ago, I guess, that Godric connected the dots.

My mother never told me who my father was so I could grow up in as normal a childhood as possible. She also never told me why we both had her maiden name, Cratchit, for that same reason.

Eighteen months ago, Godric met me at my house, and he helped me get past the Guard, one of his old friends, as it turns out, so we could cross the Wall.

In Stormhold, he introduced me to his godfather, my father, Robert Thorn, King of Stormhold.


	7. Little Fan, 1

_It's a beautiful world we live in,_

_A sweet, romantic place._

_Beautiful people everywhere._

_The way they show they care_

_Makes me want to say_

_It's a beautiful world…_

_-Devo_

* * *

My husband, my brother, and I agreed that if I did give birth to a son, and I did die, my son would be raised by Ben.

That was easier said than done.

The spring of 1979 was when I found out that I was pregnant. Gerry and I hadn't been married that long, but we didn't really care about that.

When Fred was growing up, I don't think his uncle ever told him that the father he never knew was a founding member of one of his favorite bands, one that had just started getting popular within the first few years of his life.

I do know, though, that Gerry was more reluctant than I was to give Fred up when the time came.


	8. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 1

_Time can't erase the memory of_

_These magic moments filled with love._

_-Perry Como_

* * *

Although I helped Ebenezer Scrooge remember his past, I am neither ghost nor spirit. I am a living, breathing person.

I helped him because I felt some sort of connection to him. I understood his downfall.

There was a woman back home, a long time ago. The more I look back on that time, I realize that though she was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, our relationship was doomed, like in a Shakespearean tragedy.


	9. Jacob Marley, 3

_Maybe one day you will understand._

_I don't want nothing from you but to sweetly hold your hand._

'_Till that day, just, please, don't be so down._

_Don't make frowns, you silly clown._

_-Regina Spektor_

* * *

In the summer of 1996, I had to let a secret go. My nephew, Godric, was in the hospital wing there at school, so he wasn't able to go home for the summer. One of his frequent visitors was his friend, Nathan Clark.

Four, almost five, years beforehand, Nathan had come to me after one of my lessons, one he and his friends had been at. It was in the evening, after the last class of the day.

That first time he approached me, he confided in me that he'd been adopted. He told me that he wanted to find his birth parents. I agreed to help.

He was patient in waiting for news about what he wanted to know. After nearly five years, I finally broke down and told him that I really knew more than I'd originally let on.

That day in the summer of 1996, I called Nathan into my office, telling him I knew who his parents are.

He came in and asked, "You really know who they are?"

"Yes," I told him. "I'm sorry, but, I haven't been completely honest with you about it the past few years."

His face fell.

"I've known who they are this whole time. Actually, I've known longer than you realize."

"Who are they?" he asked. He was clearly disappointed I'd withheld information, but I could tell he was still curious.

"Your mother's maiden name was Dora Baggins." He looked surprised. "Yes, her nephews are your friends. She was the one that wanted to give you up."

"What about my father? Mom's husband was my father, wasn't he?"

"Yes. He is." It took me several minutes of painful internal struggle to tell him, "I'm your father."

The shock was so great that he fell into a dead faint. I carried him over to a small couch I had in the corner, over by a window.

When he finally woke up, he walked over to the window and stood by me.

I turned to him and said, "I really didn't want to give you up."

"I know," he said. "I believe you."

I teared up as he embraced me, put his head on my shoulder. I held him there.

"I love you, dad."


	10. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 2

_She would never say where she came from._

_Yesterday don't matter if it's gone._

_While the sun is bright,_

_Or in the darkest night,_

_No one knows._

_She comes and goes._

_-The Corrs, featuring Ron Wood_

* * *

Home is where the heart is, I've heard. When I think about that, I realize it's the truth, unfortunately… the painful truth.

Giving my heart to a woman there on my home planet… though she loved me in return, it nearly cost me my life, and I strongly believe that she did lose hers.

I'll admit that I did some things for her that were… less than legal.

There was a very large, well-publicized trial for the things I did. I admitted to doing all of it… except for the rape.

As one of the doctors for Magrathea's planet builders (the best up-and-coming doctor, I'd even been called before the scandal), I was forbidden to be in a romantic relationship, forbidden to marry. I was a model example for this rule.

That is, until I met Jeanie.

Jeanie was from a long line of planet builders. She was two years older than me, and she was quickly becoming the best planet builder in several generations.

I'd seen her around, but until that first time one of her appointments was assigned to me, we'd never met. That first appointment, we immediately hit it off.

After that, I asked her out on many occasions. For years, nobody suspected that we were secretly more than just friendly.

As time went on, we took our relationship to a more serious level. We began sleeping together, quite often, and even started to have sex just as often.

Eventually, we decided to run away together and elope. We would decide what to tell people had happened after that.

As a surprise for her, I slowly figured out how to build a planet, and I was creating her one, even more slowly, on my own. It was going to be my wedding present for her.

Then, our relationship slowly began to unravel.

One night, when we had sex, her heart wasn't in it. Afterwards, I admit I pressured her more than I should have when I asked her what was wrong. She finally admitted that her parents had arranged a marriage for her, to a man that was as cruel as he was wealthy.

I called her a liar, and, completely out of character, I slapped her. Hard enough to leave a mark.

I knew the man by reputation. He was a government official that people knew was most likely a mob boss as well. I didn't want to lose Jeanie to that.

Then she told me she was pregnant. As soon as it started to show, her betrothed claimed he was the father. She and I both knew that this was far from the truth. She was revolted by this man, and she'd never wanted to carry on his line, let alone marry him.

By that point, we decided we needed to hurry and elope before Jeanie had to marry the other man.

We never got the chance.

That man was not only extremely cruel, but extremely jealous. One night, we were careless in covering our tracks when we went out. Just as we were getting into bed after going out to dinner, the police burst in on us. I was arrested, and Jeanie was only let out of the house she stayed in with her betrothed to go to work – well-supervised by his lackeys.

It was as if the whole galaxy had heard of the trial. I lost my job. People that didn't know me hated me. People that did know me hated me, even my own family.

By the time the affair had come to light, I'd finished the planet for Jeanie. Luckily, I had the foresight to do so, and to put it in a galaxy other than my own. I was thankful that nobody knew about me making it, because it was illegal to do so if you weren't a certified planet builder, and that would've been another thing I'd be charged with.

I admitted I did sleep with Jeanie during our affair, but I told the judge and jury that I never raped her; we both consented. Jeanie also said this in her testimony, but nobody believed either of us… mostly because, I believe, a certain someone paid off the judge and jury.

Somehow, I was allowed to go free for one day, under the condition I not really be free… I'd be watched by the police, who would be near enough to supervise me, but far enough to give me space. Of course, I, unknowingly, chose the day Jeanie went into labor to spend my one free day with her.

I managed to somehow slip away with her, and we were somehow able to go to the planet I'd created.

It was a long and painful thing for Jeanie, giving birth. So much so that she passed away shortly afterwards.

In my grief, I don't know how I thought enough to clean up… but I did.

I walked away for a moment, and released a range of emotions: Anger that I'd been imprisoned, strong grief from the death of the love of my life, regret that the two of us hadn't married sooner…

With a clear head, I walked back to Jeanie and our newborn twin sons. In that moment, I saw our sons as they truly are… To be completely honest, I nearly killed them both.

Then I realized that they were all I had left of Jeanie. I realized what I needed to do.

I took the three of them back to my home planet, and turned myself in. I admitted to kidnapping Jeanie. I also admitted to killing her. In a way, I had, since I was the one who had gotten her pregnant…

Before I returned, I'd put a spell on our two sons to protect them from the man who claimed to be their father. If they had been in their true forms, he certainly would have killed them.

I was found guilty, and I accepted my sentence: Exile from the planet, certain death by public execution should I return.

It was up to me to leave by midnight after the trial ended.

That night, I broke into that man's house. I found my sons and took them. I found the shrine where Jeanie's body was kept. I went to her. I heard someone come in behind me as I set down my sons. I didn't look. I knew who it was.

I stood back up and heard a click, felt a gun against the back of my head.

"Oh, no… tsk, tsk. Gwydion, you really shouldn't be here," he said.

I stood there, my hands curling into tight fists. I said nothing. I didn't turn around.

"It's nearly midnight, isn't it? You really don't want to be here past midnight, do you? Especially not here?"

I snapped. I couldn't help it. I spun around, taking a knife from my belt, and stabbed him… right in the heart.

I left him on the floor to die. I took my sons and Jeanie, and left Magrathea, never to return alive.


	11. Fred, 1

_Life is good; I can't complain._

_I mean, I could, but no one's listening._

_Your image overwhelms my brain._

_And it feels good,_

_Good, good…_

_-Aly & AJ_

* * *

I never knew my parents growing up. My mother died giving birth to me, and my father was never around. My uncle Ben never told me who my father was, but he constantly reminded me that my mother was his sister. As if I hadn't read A Christmas Carol enough times…

As a student at Hogwarts, my favorite band was Devo, and it was always funny to see my friends impersonate the band after every Quidditch game, whether Gryffindor won or not.

When my friend Godric was hospitalized over the summer just before our sixth year, I volunteered to go pick up the textbooks my friends and I needed from Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley.

I couldn't see where I was going very well when I left the store, with all of the books I had to carry. It wasn't a surprise that I ran into someone. It was a surprise that I ran into my favorite member of Devo… Gerald Casale.

As I picked the books up off the ground, I stammered out an apology.

He didn't seem to mind at all. He was even kind enough to help me take the books back to my friends. On the way, he asked me questions about myself.

He looked surprised, even shocked, when I told him my name, and that my uncle was Ebenezer Scrooge.

That night, I had trouble sleeping. I was excited to have met one of my favorite musicians, but I was bothered by his shock at who I am.

It wasn't until early 2006, just a few months shy of a decade after our meeting, that I found out that he's my father.

I wish he would've told me that time we met, but, in reality, I doubt I would have believed him.


	12. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 3

_Now we're back to the beginning._

_It's just a feeling, and no one knows yet._

_Just because they can't feel it, too,_

_Doesn't mean that you have to forget._

_-Regina Spektor_

* * *

When I first saw my sons, really saw them, I really did want to kill them, straight out of the womb.

Seeing them… It horrified me.

As far as I know, everything looked, felt… completely normal during Jeanie's pregnancy. I can't say for sure during the last few months when I was imprisoned. She seemed normal the day she gave birth.

Our sons, on the other hand, are anything but normal. Over the years, I learned that this is a good thing… better than I first suspected.

The firstborn… his legacy continues in Narnia and the world of the Jedi. The younger was instrumental in the Second Wizarding War on Earth.

The thing that worried me, especially just after their birth, is that neither was born human.


	13. Belle Wilkins, 1

_But in dreams,_

_I can hear your name._

_And in dreams,_

_We will meet again._

_-Edward Ross_

* * *

Even after so many years, it pains me to have broken off my engagement to Ben. I feel sort of mutinous, after marrying his best friend, Dick Wilkins.

There was one thing I didn't tell my husband, and I didn't tell Ben before our breakup or before his death three-and-a-half years ago. I didn't even tell my daughter, Sarah, but I've been wondering how much she's started to suspect lately.

Ben is Sarah's father, not Dick.

I wish I would've told Ben before he died. I should probably tell my husband and daughter.

In thinking of this, I sometimes wonder how life would've been different if I'd stayed with Ben, or, at least, told him about our daughter at some point.


	14. Jacob Marley, 4

_Who can say where the road goes?_

_Where the day flows?_

_Only time._

_-Enya_

* * *

Finding out I only had about six months to live was probably one of the hardest things I've had to do… a close second to giving up my son.

I had to find out because I'd slowly noticed my health was beginning to deteriorate.

One day in the middle of June, 1998, the doctor mailed me the results of the tests he'd done. As soon as I received the letter, I knew it was bad news, even before opening it.

In my office, I read a couple of lines of the letter, tossed it on my desk in anger, and called Nathan into my office.

When he came, I told him to read the part of the letter I'd read, to assure myself I'd read it correctly, and to let him know… the first person to know, other than the doctor and myself.

"Dear Mr. Marley," he read. "I regret to inform you of the results of the tests performed last week…"

His voice trailed off as he confirmed what I'd read: I had terminal prostate cancer.


	15. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 4

_We're living in a den of thieves,_

_Rummaging for answers in the pages._

_We're living in a den of thieves,_

_And it's contagious,_

_And it's contagious…_

_-Regina Spektor_

* * *

"Looks like all of the women doctors are busy right now, so you'll have to cover her appointment," my friend and colleague, Bennett, told me, handing me the medical charts as I passed him. "She can't reschedule. Room 5. Good luck."

Needless to say, I was nervous as hell.

"Just breathe," I told myself just before entering the room, hesitating a moment. "No pressure."

That was much easier said than done. When I walked into the room, I was still freaking out.

I knew Jeanie was beautiful, seeing her from afar, but as up-close and personal as this appointment was…

Surprisingly, the appointment went smoothly… until I had to check her breathing.

As soon as I realized what I had to do, I froze. I choked up and started sweating.

"Don't worry," she said, sensing my nervousness. "It's fine."

I took a deep breath and continued with what I was supposed to be doing. I relaxed as I continued working… and then I silently cursed my biology.

After that, I don't know how I didn't completely lose it.

I was lucky that the appointment was over after that.

"Well… uh… everything checks out," I said to her.

"All right. Thank you." She smiled.

"You're welcome."

We shook hands.

Just as she was about to leave the room, I got the courage to ask her, "Would you like to get coffee some… time…?"

My voice trailed off as I began to wonder if I was making a mistake. I wasn't allowed to be in relationships as a doctor, but if she agreed, it was a risk I was willing to take. If not…

"All right. How about Thursday afternoon?"

"All right. Thursday afternoon, then."

As she walked away, I wished I'd kissed her.


	16. Jacob Marley, 5

_Don't say_

_We have come now to the end._

_White shores are calling._

_You and I will meet again._

_-Annie Lennox_

* * *

That night I died…

Dora and I were getting ready for a Christmas party. When we were about to leave, I collapsed.

The next thing I knew, I was in bed, made as comfortable as possible, with my son sitting at my bedside.

I felt really weak. I knew I was close to my time.

I told Nathan to go get his uncle Drogo as fast as possible.

I struggled to stay alive long enough for them to arrive.

And yet, somehow, I did, barely. I felt myself slipping away when I heard voices, felt a cool hand on my feverish forehead.

For a few minutes, the three of us said nothing.

"Drogo… dear friend…" I rasped out, my voice sounding as weak as I felt. "Godric will come back. Trust me on this."

I could see him tear up as he took my hands.

I struggled even more to say one last thing before I passed. I was cutting it close.

"Nathan…" He leaned in, trying desperately to hear what I said. "I'm sorry to have given you up. I love you."

I looked at him one last time, and then everything faded…


	17. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 5

_There's only one thing_

_To do_

_Three words_

_For you –_

_I love you._

_-Plain White T's_

* * *

That Thursday, I almost didn't go meet Jeanie, I was so nervous. I did go, but I was worried she wouldn't make it. She did.

I didn't know whether to be relieved… or terrified.

The date went as smoothly as a first date could go. On the way home, well, when I walked her home, it started raining. Of course, we didn't think to bring umbrellas, since it'd been sunny practically the whole day.

We were about a block away from her house by that point, so we just ran the rest of the way there.

When we got there, Jeanie invited me in. It was raining cats and dogs by that point, and we were both soaked through.

She let me stay and dry off, and until the rain stopped. It continued to rain almost the whole night.

That night, I got dinner, and that kiss I wanted, but nothing past that.


	18. Bennett, 1

_I know, I know,_

_Feelings can show_

_If you let go._

_It must be told_

_That I've got a hold_

_On what we used to have._

_-Aly & AJ_

* * *

Gwydion was my best friend, and I abandoned him in his time of need.

He was 17½ months older than me. We did so much together, despite the slight age difference. I looked up to him, respected him, completely adored him. He was the older brother I never really had.

He did so much for me, and yet, I couldn't help him when he needed just one person to support him.

When Gwydion was arrested for dating Jeanie for I don't really know how long, I rejected him. I guess I was afraid to be associated with him. I was afraid to admit, even to myself, that I may've had a part in it all by giving him that appointment that one day.

Especially because Jeanie was later betrothed to Switzer, the most infamous mob boss on all of Magrathea.

The more I think about it, I'm glad Gwydion was taken to trial and exiled, not mysteriously vanished.

Since Gwydion has been gone, I left Magrathea, too. I went to Earth.

I never thought it would happen, but I swear I've seen him on Earth, especially since the early 1950's: Broadway, film, TV… Cabaret.

I swore to myself I'd quit medicine after the trial ended. And yet, here I am, a doctor, the medical examiner for NCIS.

I've wanted to talk to him so much since I've seen him, but mostly I've wanted to apologize for not being there. I've been too much of a coward to.


	19. Sarah Wilkins, 1

_White lines on your mind,_

_Keep it steady,_

_You were never ready_

_For the lies._

_-Regina Spektor_

* * *

I've stumbled upon a terrible secret my mother has been keeping. From me; from the man she married, the one I've always called my father; from Ebenezer Scrooge…

I don't think she knows I know.

I found one of my mother's old journals. I know I should've respected her privacy by not reading it, but my curiosity got the better of me.

She kept all of the details of the end of her relationship with Mr. Scrooge. All of them.

I think he's my dad.

My mother's been lying about it the whole time.


	20. Bob Cratchit, 3

_Sometimes you fall before you fly._

_Sometimes you laugh when you should cry._

_Go figure._

_When things got messed up,_

_You wanted to give up._

_Nothing seems right, but it turned out fine._

_Go figure._

_-Everlife_

* * *

Living a poor life, I never expected to really be a prince. If Mr. Scrooge could see me now…

February 23rd, 2008 is a day I'll not soon forget.

That night, Godric paid me an unexpected visit. He said it was important. It was odd, I'll admit, though I never have a problem with seeing him.

He took me to the hole in the Wall. Mr. Brownlow the Guard, whom everyone calls Grandpa Joe, let us through. This is normally completely unheard of.

Once in Stormhold, Godric took my hand, and we Apparated to the Royal Palace, where, once again, to my surprise, we were allowed in.

Then he took me to the highest floor… the King's room. At the time, I had no clue why. Godric went in before me, closing the door behind him. Understandably, I became more nervous than before. A few minutes later, he came back out and let me go in with him.

"Bob, this is my godfather, Robert Thorn. Mr. T., this is my friend, Bob Cratchit," Godric said, introducing me to the other man in the room. As I went to shake the man's hand, Godric slipped out of the room, barely noticed, and closed the door.

Being in the Royal Palace, in the King's room, I should've caught on to the fact that Mr. Thorn wasn't just Mr. Thorn.

I was led to a window overlooking the kingdom, one which has been made safer since Tristan Thorn's time.

Then "Mr." Thorn asked me about myself and my mother. I'll admit, I was slightly suspicious of the questions. They seemed more than odd at the time.

We had a slight Lion King moment then, if you will.

"It's still overwhelming, looking out over my kingdom," he told me. "One day, it'll be yours."

He looked over at me and sensed my confusion.

"Are you sure your mother's never told you about me?" he asked. "Not even just to bring up my name?"

"No… I'm sure she hasn't."

"I'll admit I told her that I wanted you to have a normal life and to not know about my… status…"

I was still confused.

"I'm the King of Stormhold," Mr. Thorn told me. "Your mother and I were married, even until her death. Technically speaking, she was Queen. You're my son, the Crown Prince."

I just stared at him in disbelief.


	21. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 6

_Though_

_I care a lot,_

_You don't believe it's true,_

_Do you?_

_-Clannad_

* * *

I was never visited by anyone I care about when I was imprisoned on Magrathea.

No, I take that back. Bennett did. Once. It wasn't really to support me.

And to think we'd been as close as brothers…

When Bennett did come see me that one time, at first, it'd given me the first glimmer of hope I'd had since being arrested. Of course, said hope was crushed quickly.

I'll admit I was surprised to hear I had a visitor. Again, it was the first and last time I would in a Magrathean prison, and I'd been all but disowned by my family out of shame.

When I first saw that I'd been visited by Bennett, I'd been relieved.

He asked, "Why'd you do it?"

"I loved her. I still do. I never hurt her, though. You must believe that!"

"I wish I could."

"I'd do it again if I had the chance. I really would."

"You can't be serious!"

"I am. But you're forgetting that you're the one that passed off her appointment to me that one day."

"Don't say that," he said, angrily, or possibly hurt.

"Don't lie to me. Don't lie to yourself. You know it's true."

"Don't say that," Bennett repeated, definitely more angry.

"Bennett…"

"Gwydion, I don't know you anymore! You're not the same person I'd always been friends with!" Those fateful words ended it all.

"Ben, I'm still me!"

He wouldn't listen. He was already half out the door at that point.

The cell door closed, and I was alone again.

We'd said other things that day, ones I'd take back, ones I hope he would.

I hate that it had to end like that.


	22. Jacob Marley, 6

_Rushing and racing and running in circles._

_Moving so fast, I'm forgetting my purpose._

_Blur of the traffic is sending me spinning,_

_Getting nowhere._

_-Emmy Rossum_

* * *

You would think that being in two places at once is impossible.

With a Time-Turner, it isn't. It's risky, extremely risky, but not impossible. I was a living example of that.

I'll admit that I probably would have worked myself to death if I didn't have the cancer. Or perhaps the exhaustion was a contributing factor to my death.

I was practically living each day twice.

I would spend the day teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, then use the Time-Turner to go back earlier in the day to work at Scrooge and Marley's in Wall.


	23. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 7

_Where do you go_

_When you're lonely?_

_Where do you go_

_When you're blue?_

_Where do you go_

_When you're lonely?_

_I'll follow you_

_When the stars go blue…_

_-The Corrs, featuring Bono_

* * *

I'll be honest. Earth wasn't my first choice for my adopted home. But, then again, you can't really choose when you're in exile.

Although, I didn't go straight to Earth during my exile. The planet hadn't been fully built when I was first cast out. Not Earth Mark 1, anyway. Jeanie was working on what is now New Zealand before the trial, and once that mess got started, there were delays in Earth's completion.

In the hours before I left my home, I went to see Deep Thought. I wasn't around to see when the Ultimate Answer was "asked for;" that was way before my time. I was there to see Deep Thought give the answer, though, which led to the start of Earth.

I went to Deep Thought for advice: not about the Ultimate Question, not obviously directly, I should say, but about what I should do next, where I should go after Magrathea.

I was told, of course, to go to Earth. Well, not in so many words.

"Go to her planet," Deep Thought told me. "You'll find all your answers there."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She told me, "You'll figure it out on your own."

When Deep Though told me to go to Jeanie's planet, I thought she meant the one I'd built.

"Wait…" I hesitated, just before leaving. "How did you know about the trial?"

"Oh, come on! I hear things! I figure things out! I'm not stupid, you know!"

I thanked her, then left.

After taking Jeanie and our sons from the mob boss' home, I took them to the planet I'd built. I created my own memorial for Jeanie there; it was there where I'd raised our sons, on my own.


	24. The Ghost of Christmas Future, 1

_Life is the gift that we make._

_Love is a risk that we take._

_Death is just the final form of conformity._

_-Mark Salling_

* * *

Call me Morty.

Sure, I looked like the Grim Reaper when I showed Scrooge what his future could have been like. I get that a lot.

I am Death.


	25. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 8

…_I'm not a hero! I'm not a savior!_

_Forget what you know._

_I'm just a man whose circumstances_

_Went beyond his control,_

_Beyond my control…_

_-Styx_

* * *

In my world, they call it Endor, the Middle Land, Middle-Earth. To them, I am known as Eru Ilúvatar. Essentially, I am their God.

I am no god. I am a mere mortal Magrathean, more mortal than these Elves.

For countless years, I hid myself among those in the Undying Lands, until Earth had been completed. It was there I'd hid Jeanie and raised our sons.

In Narnia, to the West, and Middle-Earth, to the East, these Undying Lands, this Aslan's Country, are considered Heaven. I'll admit it's a rather unconventional place to hide the body of my late lover.

However, I must repeat that I am a person, a living person, not a god.

* * *

_I'm Kilroy!_

_Kilroy! Kilroy!_

_Kilroy…_


	26. The Ghost of Christmas Future, 2

_Pardon me, but can I please_

_Just ask a stupid question?_

_What is living for?_

_-Mark Salling_

* * *

Sleepy Hollow, New York. It's one of America's most infamous small towns.

It's also where I became legend, where I accepted the role of the Angel of Death.

During the Revolution, I became the horror known as the Headless Horseman. I'll admit it. I was vicious then. I've calmed down some. On a personal level, not on a… death level.

Everyone dies eventually.


	27. Jacob Marley, Part 7

_Moving in silence,_

_Feel the rush,_

_Hold me down._

_Is this too real,_

_What you're feeling now?_

_-Emmy Rossum_

* * *

I didn't really realize I was in love until sometime during my sixth year at Hogwarts. Even then, it caught me by surprise.

It started off… rather awkwardly. It was actually a bit embarrassing for a while.

Even though my friend Drogo was supposed to set a good example as a school prefect, he would sometimes sneak me and our friends into the prefects-only bathroom. At the time, I didn't think that would be significant. Not that one night.

About three-quarters of the way through the year, Drogo got me into the prefects' room. When I wasn't paying attention, he slipped away. I should've realized that was a red flag.

Completely oblivious to that fact, I began to bathe.

Then I heard someone else come in. Hiding in a mound of bubbles, I tried to see who it was without being seen myself.

I didn't know what freaked me out more, the fact that it was a girl, Drogo's sister, Dora, or the fact that she probably noticed I'd left my clothes out in the open like an idiot.

It sounds weird when I say it to myself, but I couldn't turn away when she undressed. I froze.

I saw her slip into the water. By the time I brought myself to duck under the water to swim away and climb out of the bath, she was right up to me.

We both came up for air and panicked. It was extremely awkward, the situation we were in. We freaked out as we got out and went to the regular bathrooms to pretend like nothing had happened.

We never told anyone about our relationship. We especially didn't want Drogo to know. I was worried he'd hate me, since I thought his best friend dating his sister would upset him. Dora was worried about being his sister and dating his best friend.

This irrational fear led to two important decisions: Dora and I eloped: I would've wanted Drogo to be my best man in normal circumstances. And I let Dora convince me to give our son up.

I say that this fear was irrational because, years later, when Drogo and I both visited my nephew in the hospital that one summer, Drogo told me he was the one to set me up with his sister. He'd tricked us both into thinking we'd be alone that one night.


	28. Fred, 2

_Gotta find your inner strength._

_If you can't, then just throw life away._

_Gotta learn to rely on you:_

_Beauty, strength, and wisdom, too._

_-Hilary Duff_

* * *

Just because I never knew my parents doesn't mean I couldn't find strength from them, especially my mother.

My uncle may've lost faith in the Christmas season after my mother died, but I never did.

Knowing she died to give me life, especially in such a season, gave me hope.


	29. Jacob Marley, 8

_This could be the longest night_

_In recorded history._

_And as for sleep, you might as well_

_Just cross it off_

_The list of possibilities._

_-Styx_

* * *

"We have to give our child up," Dora had said several months before. "If we don't, we'll have to tell Drogo – everything. I don't want to mess this up."

"This is already messed up!" I half-yelled, startling even myself. "I'm getting tired of this charade! I want to tell Drogo what happened all those years ago, and I want to keep this child."

And yet, when it all came to pass, I didn't have the courage to stand up to her to stop the adoption.

Within a week, our son was gone.


	30. Dennis DeYoung, 1

_Leading a double life:_

_Can it be wrong_

_When you know that it's right?_

_-Styx_

* * *

I've known Gwydion my whole life. I know it sounds cliché, or like an exaggeration, but it's true. I know it sounds so corny when I say that.

We're first cousins, actually.

But, the thing is, he's 15 years older than me. Even though there's such a large age gap between us, we still have reason to be close.

I… I owe him so much.

Gwydion was the one to help my mother, his aunt, when she gave birth to me. Why she was basically left alone when people knew I was so close, I still don't know.

Growing up, he was always there for me, even when he was off at school to be a doctor. And with him was his closest friend, Bennett.

When I was a kid, I thought my cousin could do no wrong. It was a big shock to find out about the Jeanie scandal, to say the least.

By that time, I was in my late teens and old enough to understand what was going on… once the whole world found out what was going on.

I'd been keeping a secret of my own. While most of Magrathea had turned its back on Gwydion, I hadn't.

I was the leader of an underground pro-Kilroy movement.

As a child, I'd sent and received messages with my cousin, written in what would later be known as the Elvish language in The Lord of the Rings. Back then, it was just a game we had, but it became a symbol in the Banksy-type graffiti I'd done as part of the movement.

The morning my cousin had been released from prison, I found one of these messages written by him on the sidewalk outside my front door.

I went out to the secret fort the two of us built when I was about five, like the message had said.

I guarded Gwydion there as he rested, then told me what really happened between him and Jeanie. Before he went to Deep Thought, he left me the journal he'd kept in prison. I think it relieved him to realize I'd really been on his side the whole time.

I'd later used his story as musical inspiration.


	31. Tiny Tim Cratchit, 1

_Starin' blankly ahead,_

_Just makin' my way,_

_Makin' my way through the crowd._

_-Vanessa Carlton_

* * *

New school years are always both exciting and scary. Or, so I've heard. I've actually been homeschooled up until now.

In a few weeks, I'll be starting my first year at Hogwarts.

Having problems walking never bothered me before. I'm just worried about whether or not my classmates will be as understanding as my family or the people of Wall.

I definitely won't blend in too well there at Hogwarts.

More than all of that, I'm worried I'll wear myself out easily. I mean, it's a big school. It has a lot of stairs. Between my books and my crutches, I don't think I'd be able to get around easily.


	32. Jacob Marley, 9

_Chasin' the skirt of a beautiful wife,_

_You make mistakes, and it's my back that breaks._

_And forever, my past steals my life._

_To submission, I'm beat,_

_But there's hope beneath these feet._

_-Fiction Plane_

* * *

To say that I went into a downward spiral after giving up Nathan is an understatement.

I couldn't convince myself that Dora was right in that it was all for the best.

I had to find a way to see my son again and try to set things right.

The school year before Nathan went to Hogwarts, I began using the Time-Turner to teach there and to work at Scrooge and Marley's.


	33. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 9

_Into your head,_

_Into your mind,_

_Out of your soul,_

_Race through your veins,_

_You can't escape,_

_You can't escape._

_-Aly & AJ_

* * *

In going to Earth after my exile, I thought I'd escaped my past on Magrathea, since Earth was still in-progress during that dark period.

Of course, that didn't happen.

Through a connection on Earth, I'd spent a period of time in Prydain. For a long time there, and on Earth, I had gained more fame than infamy for the first time since I'd left home, with the exception of my supposed godliness on Middle-Earth, my illegal planet.

In Prydain, I'd met a boy, rather, a young man, named Taran, a so-called "assistant pig-keeper" who turned out to be the son of two of the Hogwarts founders.

I didn't want to ruin things for him by telling him my reputation on Magrathea was not quite as good as it once was, not as good as it had been in Prydain.

This was especially true after Hen Wen, Taran's charge, had told me the Horned King's true name.

My past had come back to haunt me.

Whether he was some sort of evil spirit or some vile reincarnation, I may never know, but the Horned King was the mob boss who ruined me.


	34. Bob Cratchit, 4

_So if you think your life is_

_Complete confusion_

_Because your neighbor's got it made,_

_Just remember that_

_It's a grand illusion_

_And deep inside, we're all the same…_

_-Styx_

* * *

Having to care for such a large family on a tiny salary was clearly hard, even though not all of us are related by blood.

Martha wasn't actually my daughter, as Charles Dickens had said. She was actually the daughter of my mother's brother; she was my cousin. After her parents died, my mother took her in. Martha was more like a sister to me.

After leaving Hogwarts in 1998, my girlfriend, McCall, and I were married. We'd taken in several children, as my mother had with my cousin, though we couldn't really afford to, and though some of the children weren't much younger than us.

I'm not sure if Tiny Tim knows it, but he was born at the end of my seventh year at Hogwarts, and that he's the only biological child his mother and I have. He's the reason she and I married.


	35. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 10

_I hate to turn up_

_Out of the blue, uninvited._

_But I couldn't stay away,_

_I couldn't fight it._

_I'd hoped that you'd see my face_

_And that you'd be reminded_

_That for me, it isn't over._

_-Adele_

* * *

After Jeanie told me about her engagement and pregnancy, and I'd hurt her, she and I had some relationship problems. Actually, we'd broken up for a little while.

It was hard enough, pretending that we were never a couple the whole time, but it was harder trying to act like I didn't enjoy the supposed only-friends relationship. No matter how much I wanted to stay mad at Jeanie, I couldn't. I really tried to.

A couple weeks after Jeanie and I had broken up, Bennett and I went with my cousin, Dennis, to some public function or other. I don't remember exactly what it was, but I remember that mob boss had paraded Jeanie up on that outdoor stage with him, like she was his trophy wife. She almost was.

Bennett and Dennis had also both seen her up there; so did the whole crowd.

"Just out of curiosity," Dennis asked, "Why haven't I heard from Jeanie lately?"

"That's true," Bennett said. "I haven't either. Is something wrong?"

Bennett and Dennis had also both seen her up there; so did the whole crowd.

"Just out of curiosity," Dennis asked, "Why haven't I heard from Jeanie lately?"

"That's true," Bennett said. "I haven't either. Is something wrong?"

"We… haven't been getting along lately," I put it mildly.

"Does this have something to do with her engagement?" Bennett asked. "I know you used to like her."

"'Used to,' being the operative phrase. I'd rather not talk about it." The last thing I saw before leaving my friends in the crowd was Jeanie looking through the crowd for someone, me, I'm sure, unbeknownst to everyone else.

She never said so, but I think she knew I was mad when she saw me leave. I didn't want to, but I'd caught her eye then.


	36. The Ghost of Christmas Future, Part 3

_Our ocean's a Red Sea,_

_But you won't change your ways_

_Or move close as the giant stares on._

_The money and the power unite,_

_Cast aside._

_A guiding star lights the way._

_-Clannad_

* * *

I never wanted to be normal, but it may've cost me.

At one time, I lived in Middle-Earth. I'd even ruled over Lothlórien for a while, before Galadriel and Celeborn.

As an Elf, I was supposed to go to the Undying Lands. I'd stepped down as ruler, supposedly to go there.

Here's where the "not normal" comes in. I wanted to retain my Elven immortality without feeling restrained to one place.

I left Middle-Earth, but not for the Undying Lands. I made my way to Earth.

At one point, I became curious as to what was going on in my homeland. I was worried I'd be recognized by someone I knew, so I'd returned in disguise and under a false name.

Godric Gryffindor was visiting his wife's family in Lórien when I'd returned there. Though he never knew me before I'd left, he'd somehow seen through my disguise and confronted me.

Long story short, we'd had a… heated discussion about why I'd come back. He'd cursed me to become what would later be called the Headless Horseman, and, as he walked away, I'd cursed his future heir, the Gryffindor counterpart of Tom Riddle (who is not Harry Potter, by the way), to the same fate.

I regretted that almost immediately.


	37. Robert Thorn, 1

_Where are you going,_

_And what are you thinking at all?_

_Your eyes show nothing more_

_Than a dazed oblivion._

_What does it mean?_

_What will I see_

_When I look_

_Closer, closer…_

_-The Corrs_

* * *

I used my godson to track down my real son. They were born a few weeks apart, I believe, and I knew that once they went to Hogwarts, there was the possibility that they'd end up becoming friends, which they did.

I still don't know why I used Godric as the go-between, trusting a boy to do it.

I know it really sounds odd to do it like that, when, as royalty, I could've used plenty of other resources. Though technically my wife, Bob's mother, and I were separated but not divorced, I still had more than friendly, however limited, contact with her. I know I could've, and probably should've, gone through her to see our son, but I was being stupid, so I didn't.

I'd asked my wife to raise our son as a normal English boy, not as a prince of Stormhold, while I lived across the Wall, ruling a country. I wanted him to know what it was like to be a normal person because I realize that rulers and people in power have a historical tendency to abuse that power, and to not realize why people become angry about it.

I didn't want that to happen to my son.

As to why I used my godson to get to my son, I guess it was that I thought my son would believe someone closer to his own age about something huge like this instead of some strange grown-up.


	38. The Ghost of Christmas Present, 1

_Do you think I'm special?_

_Do you think I'm nice?_

_Between the noise you hear_

_And the sound you like,_

_Are we just sinking in the ocean of faces?_

_-OneRepublic_

* * *

It's hard being the youngest child. I'll admit that I was one of those bratty little things that demanded attention, like some youngest children do, since I had 1842 older siblings. To be honest, I'm not sure how we managed.

After a while, I gained a new perspective on life. I quit bothering people and letting them bother me, and I began to enjoy the little things in life.

That's what I wanted to show Scrooge.


End file.
